NEW AT 5:30, CRIMINAL CAPTURED. ONE OF THE ARMY'S MOST WANTED FUGITIVES WAS CAUGHT HIDING OUT RIGHT HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, AND HIS COWORKERS WERE SHOCKED TO HEAR THE NEWS OF HIS ARREST. JAMES ROBERT JONES IS HIS REAL NAME, AND HE WAS SERVING A 23-YEAR SENTENCE FOR MURDER WHEN HE ESCAPED FROM LEAVENWORTH. LOCAL10 NEWS REPORTER TODD TONGEN IS LIVE WITH MORE ON HOW THIS MAN STAYED HIDDEN FOR SO LONG, TODD. Reporter: JANINE, JAMESY JONES HAS BEEN HIDING OUT HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA FOR AT LEAST SINCE 1981. THAT'S WHEN HE OBTAINED A FRAUDULENT FLORIDA DRIVER LICENSE UNDER AN ALIAS. THAT LATER WOULD TURN OUT TO CAPTURE HIM. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY. U.S. MARSHALS USE A FACIAL RECOGNITION DATABASE. THEY PLUGGED IN HIS PRISON MUGSHOT AND GOT A HIT ON THAT 1981 FLORIDA D.L. YESTERDAY THEY ARRESTED HIM. 59-YEAR-OLD JAMES JONES HAS BEEN LIVING ON THE LAMB FOR 37 YEARS UNDER THE ALIAS BRUCE COMPETED TODAY HIS NEIGHBOR 15 YEARS WAS AWESTRUCK AT THE NEWS SHE WAS LIVING NEXT TO A MURDERER. I NEVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS BELIEVED -- I STILL CAN'T, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS, BUT IT'S NOT SINKING IN. Reporter: JONES HAS CONVICTED OF THE MURDER OF A FELLOW ARMY PRIVATE AT FORT DIX, NEW JERSEY IN 1974, AND SENTENCED TO 23 YEARS HERE. THE U.S. DISCIPLINARY BARRACKS, THE MILL TAUR'S ONLY MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON AFFECTIONATELY NICKNAMED THE CASTLE. IN 1977 HE STAGED AN ESCAPE. INVESTIGATORS CALLED VERY ELABORATE. HE SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR INTO THIN AIR. UNTIL YESTERDAY WHEN U.S. MARSHALS FOLLOWED HIM FROM HIS HOME IN DEERFIELD BEACH TO HIS WORK AND REMAINS. IN BOND COURT TODAY HIS HAND WERE SHACK TOLD HIS WAIST AND HE NEVER SAID A WORD, BUT ACCORDING TO U.S. MARSHALS WHEN HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY HE SAID "I KNEW IT WAS WOULD CATCH UP TO ME ONE DAY." BRUCE KEITH WORKED HERE AT AIR SYSTEMS ENTERPRISES. HIS NEIGHBORS OFTEN WOULD SEE HIS VAN PARKED IN THING FRONT DRIVEWAY. THE FRONT OFFICE SAYS THAT HE'S WORKED HERE FOR FIVE YEARS AND THAT HE WAS A GOOD EMPLOYEE. IN A STATEMENT THE COMPANY SAID "WE WERE EXTREMELY SURPRISED TO LEARN YESTERDAY OF HIS PAST AND SHOCKED TO HAVE EXPERIENCED HIS ARREST AT OUR OFFICE." NEIGHBORS AI JONES AND HIS WIFE SUSAN HAVE LIVED ON THIS QUIET STREET FOOTER LEAST 15 YEARS. HE LIKED TO GO BOATING AND WALK HIS DOGS. I MEAN, ALL THE NEIGHBORS LIKED HIM. HE WAS JUST A GOOD NEIGHBOR. Reporter: JAMES JONES' DAYS ON THE RUN ARE OVER. HE IS RIGHT NOW INSIDE THE BROWARD COUNTY JAIL BUT EVENTUALLY HE'LL BE TURNED OVER TO U.S. MILITARY POLICE AND ESCORTED BACK TO LEAVENWORTH TO SERVE OUT HIS SENTENCE. THIS IS A FASCINATING STORY, AND SO WE DUG UP SOME OLD ARTICLES FROM THE 1970S. THE FIRST IS FROM THE TRENTON EVENING TIMES. IT TALKS ABOUT THE MURDER AND CONVICTION OF JAMES JONES. THE OTHER IS FROM THE LEAVENWORTH LIBRARY. THIS TALKS ABOUT HIS ESCAPE. A LOT OF PEOPLE WONDER HOW COULD SEE ESCAPE FROM LEAVENWORTH? IN THIS ARTICLE THEY DON'T EVEN ACTUALLY KNOW HOW HE ESCAPED. THEY THINK HE MAY HAVE BEEN SMUGGLED OUT INSIDE A LAUNDRY TRUCK OR A FOOD CART. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ EITHER OF THESE ARTICLES IN THEIR BRIGHTER, I HAVE POSTED THEM AT LOCAL10.COM.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -

In the nearly 40 years after he escaped from the maximum-security military prison at Fort Leavenworth, convicted killer James Robert Jones carved out a new life for himself in South Florida, living under an assumed name, getting married and working for an air conditioning company.

It all came to an end this week when Jones -- or Bruce Walter Keith, as the former Army private was known in Florida -- was recaptured with the help of technology that was more sci-fi than reality when he broke out during the disco era: facial-recognition software.

"The first words out of his mouth were, `I knew this would catch up with me someday,'" Barry Golden, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, said Friday.

Jones, 59, was one of the Army's 15 most-wanted fugitives after his 1977 escape from the Kansas prison dubbed "The Castle" for its large walls and tower keeps.

He was convicted of murder and assault in the 1974 killing of a fellow soldier at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

According to the archives of The Times of Trenton, Jones, who is originally from Ontario, Calif., was found guilty in the stabbing death of Lonnie Eaton, 18, and the wounding of another man. Police at the time said Eaton and a friend were walking back to the base from a bar when they were attacked by three men with knives after one approached and asked if they had any marijuana to sell.

Jones was serving a 23-year sentence when he escaped.

The marshals caught up with Jones on Thursday after using facial-recognition technology to match a Florida driver's license he was issued in 1981 in Keith's name with his old military photograph.

Jones was arrested outside the Pompano Beach business where he worked.

He admitted his real identity as he was being fingerprinted, and the prints confirmed it. He was being held without bail at the Broward County jail, awaiting transfer back to Fort Leavenworth.

No one responded to a voice mail left at a number listed for Bruce Keith at his Deerfield Beach address. Property records show he and wife Susan Keith were married in 1983 and have lived there since 1984.

Susan Keith, 56, told investigators she had no idea her husband was living under an assumed name, Golden said.

No one answered the door Friday at their tidy, single-story, light-gray house. Parked in the driveway was a red pickup with a Miami Dolphins logo, and a fishing boat on a trailer was visible behind a fence.

Neighbors were shocked at the news.

"They are nice people. That's what I don't understand. I couldn't understand that he ever got involved with something like that. I just can't believe it," said Joe Onischuk, who has lived across the street for more than 30 years.

Tammy Deangelis, who lives next door, said: "We would all get together. It's a friendly quiet neighborhood. Good neighbors. Didn't even know he was in the military. If we had any air conditioning problems, we would go to him."

The investigation into Jones' escape had gone cold until last year, when an Army liaison to the Marshals Service happened to mention the case and asked for help. The marshals began working on it January.

Jones' military photo was compared against Florida's database of driver's license photos and yielded a hit.

U.S. law enforcement authorities frequently use such technology to track down fugitives or identify suspects at airports and in other public places.

The license issued under Keith's name had a different day and month of birth than Jones', but the year was the same.

After officers picked him up, Jones wouldn't even respond to his real name, perhaps because he had been living under an alias for so long, Golden said.

Jones was 23 at the time of his escape and was last seen working in the dining facility. Fort Leavenworth spokesman George Marcec said no one recalls anything about the escape because it was so long ago.

Between 1977 and 1998, there were seven escapes involving 11 prisoners at the disciplinary barracks, but all but Jones had been recaptured. The Castle was closed in 2002 and prisoners were moved to a new prison on the base.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Jones would be court-martialed or simply returned to prison to serve out his sentence. He could also face escape charges, Golden said.

Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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